State taxes

[frankiett]

Do I just subtract my social security income from my total income when determining my state tax in California, since California doesn't tax social security?

[xmasbaby0]

No.   All you need to do is enter your SSA1099 into the federal software.   Information flows from the federal return to the state return.   TurboTax will follow all of your state's laws pertaining to Social Security; your SS will not be taxed by CA.

  Go to Federal> Wages & Income>>Retirement Plans and Social Security  (SSA1099 and 1099RRB) to enter your SSA1099.

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

If you are doing some estimates and tax planning, then yes, Social Security is not taxed in California.  If you are filling out a return on paper, you should follow the California instructions. You are probably supposed to list your total federal income and then show the Social Security subtraction on a separate line.  If you are using TurboTax, just enter all of your income in the federal section and answer all the questions and TurboTax will take care of the subtraction on your state return automatically.

[frankiett]

Thank you, yes I am doing some retirement tax planning I need and running estimates on different income levels.  I would also assume for estimates I would also deduct the standard deduction and senior exemptions from the total income as well. Correct??  I am using the state supplied calculator and it only asks for a single entry for income amount. That is why I wanted some clarity on the correct number to enter.

[DaveF1006 · Accepted solution]

Yes, you will include for the standard deduction (including the deduction got being over 65) in your estimates.